The Asian-Pacific Islander Leadership Forum denounces the recent editorial, “Refocus Admissions on Merit,” published in The Hoya last Friday. We do not stand for the beliefs espoused in this article.

While the editorial states that after eliminating affirmative action, the proportion of Asian-American students rose at the University of California, Berkeley, the editorial fails to mention how the policy also hurt enrollment of Black and Latinx students.

The editorial also ignores how whiteness is still predominant at private universities across the country, as legacy status unfavorably advantages white students from wealthy backgrounds. This is how predominantly white institutions manage to remain this way, forcing minority students to vie for the remaining seats.

Additionally, affirmative action has benefited disadvantaged Asian-American groups, namely those of Southeast Asian origin and/or from low-income backgrounds. As stated in the editorial, certain Asian-American ethnic groups — e.g., Laotian-Americans at 16 percent and Bhutanese-Americans at 9 percent — are less likely to hold a bachelor’s or graduate degree than other groups — e.g., Indian-Americans at 72 percent. However, eliminating affirmative action will further exacerbate this problem.

Thus, instead of debating the merits of affirmative action, we should direct our energies toward not only ending legacy status at PWIs but disaggregating data among Asian-Americans. Disaggregation — meaning to collect data on Asian-Americans by ethnicity, rather than as a monolithic racial group — will be one step toward ending these inequities among Asian-Americans.

We would like to see the editorial board apologize for its harmful statements against Black and Latinx students. We are willing to hold conversation with all Asian-identified students who hold these beliefs.

As an organization, APILF believes in fighting for educational equity in every form, though we do not think that dismantling affirmative action is the way to accomplish it.

5 Comments

Whelp maybe “Black and Latino students” should earn their place. You mention legacy students and how the stage is tilted in favor of rich whites.
What you forget to mention is the working and middle class white men are neither legacy or well connected and are getting their spots stolen by unqualified minorities.

Secondly your “asian group” may support affirmative action but numerous others are opposed to it, so you most certainly don’t speak for all or even most asians (even though that term itself is to generic to describe anything useful).

How stupid does this guy play identity politics! Do you say those people are stupid that they cannot compete? Why not just socialecomical based? Why does skinn color matter? Unless you are a racist and think those monorities are as stupid as you!

I just had one question for you: when you are sick and need to see a doctor, when your heart is failing you and you need a bridge, when you are ready to move into a nice new apartment building, when you are driving on a bridge, are you prefer a doctor, a surgeon, an engineer who is accepted based on skin color (diversity)? Or you would like someone with good merit(reputation)

College admission should be race blind, and color blind. Social-economic status should be the only consideration for favortism.

America is more racially divided in the last 10 years and we need to do something to mend it by uniting, not dividing.

Why cannot we just all be one people, the Americans? Racism starts and is strengthened in schools, especially on college applications when a kid reaches 18 and can vote. Because every form they fill is asking: which race are you? Why does it matter so much?

With only 5.6% of Asian American population, why should they be more divided? Why not the whites (English, French, Russians, Jewish…), why not the blacks (Nygerians, South Africans, Carribeans….), the Hispanics (Spainish, Mexicans…)? If you look at any of these group, sub-divide them, you will find similar gaps and disparities. Where does this lead? Broken America?

Does the author know that in WWII, Japanese Americans were put into internment camps for their ethnic heritage, not their actions? And the US government denied that they used data collected by the Census Bureau until the year 2007! And remember, Census Bureau always claimed that their data has privacy protection, never will be used by government.

For those who belong to a small race group and think you could benefit from these kind of racist policies: think twice! If you are truly suffering financially, policies that consider social-economical status will cover you. If you are well off and want to take advantage of other poor kids from another race, then ask yourself: am I as noble as I think I am?

In the end, a society that is free, strong and prosperous is why most people choose to immigrate here. Race and Color blind policies drive America toward that direction.

Abolish racial quota in college admission processes. It is unfair, unjust and bad for America.